The History & Hauntings of Zombie
Road can be found in Troy Taylor's Book,Out Past the Campfire Light:Hauntings, Horrors & Unsolved Mysteries of the Great Outdoors
Click on the Book Cover for More Information about the Book & Other
Titles by Troy Taylor.

The city of St. Louis
is unlike many other major American cities. It is a
large sprawling region of suburbs and interconnected
towns that make up the metropolitan city as a whole,
making it an impossible place to live if you do not own
an automobile. With the Mississippi River as the eastern
border of St. Louis, the settlers who came here
originally had nowhere to go but to the west and the
city expanded in that direction.

After all of these
years, though, and despite the amount of
construction and development that has occurred, once
you leave the western suburbs of St. Louis, you
enter a rugged, wild region that is marked with
rivers, forests and caves. Traveling west on
Interstate 44, and especially along the smaller
highways, you soon leave the buildings and houses
behind. It is here, you will discover, that
mysteries lie…

There are many
tales of strange events in the area, from mysterious
creatures to vanished towns, but few of them contain
any supernatural elements. The same cannot be said
for another area that is located nearby. If the
stories that are told about this forgotten stretch
of roadway are even partially true, then a place
called "Zombie Road" just may be one of the weirdest
spots in the region.

The old roadway
that has been dubbed "Zombie Road" (a name by which
it was known at least as far back as the 1950s) was
once listed on maps as Lawler Ford Road and was
constructed at some point in the late 1860s. The
road, which was once merely gravel and dirt, was
paved at some point years ago, but it is now largely
impassable by automobile. It was originally built to
provide access to the Meramec and the railroad
tracks located along the river.

In 1868, the Glencoe Marble Company was formed to
work the limestone deposits in what is now the
Rockwoods Reservation, located nearby. A sidetrack
was laid from the deposits to the town of Glencoe
and on to the road, crossing the property of James
E. Yeatman. The side track from the Pacific Railroad
switched off the main line at Yeatman Junction and
at this same location, the Lawler Ford Road ended at
the river. There is no record as to where the Lawler
name came from, but a ford did cross the river at
this point into the land belonging to the Lewis
family. At times, a boat was used to ferry people
across the river here, which is undoubtedly why the
road was placed at this location.

As time passed, the narrow road began to be used by
trucks that hauled quarry stone from railcars and
then later fell into disuse. Those who recall the
road when it was more widely in use have told me
that the narrow, winding lane, which runs through
roughly two miles of dense woods, was always
enveloped in a strange silence and a half-light.
Shadows were always long here, even on the brightest
day, and it was always impossible to see past the
trees and brush to what was coming around the next
curve. I was told that if you were driving and met
another car, one of you would have to back up to one
of the few wide places, or even the beginning of the
road, in order for the other one to pass.

Strangely, even those that I talked to with no
interest in ghosts or the unusual all mentioned that
Zombie Road was a spooky place. I was told that one
of the strangest things about it was that it never
looked the same or seemed the same length twice,
even on the return trip from the dead end point
where the stone company's property started. "At
times", one person told me, "we had the
claustrophobic feeling that it would never end and
that we would drive on forever into deeper darkness
and silence."

Thanks to its secluded location, and the fact that
it fell into disrepair and was abandoned, the Lawler
Ford Road gained a reputation in the 1950s as a
local hangout for area teenagers to have parties,
drink beer and as a lover's lane, as well. Located
in Wildwood, which was formerly Ellisville, and
Glencoe, the road can be reached by taking
Manchester Road out west of the city to Old State
Road South. By turning down Ridge Road to the Ridge
Meadows Elementary School, curiosity seekers could
find the road just to the left of the school. For
years, it was marked with a sign but it has since
disappeared. Only a chained gate marks the entrance
today.

The road saw quite a lot of traffic in the early
years of its popularity and occasionally still sees
a traveler or two today. Most who come here now
though are not looking for a party. Instead, they
come looking for the unexplained. As so many
locations of this type do, Lawler Ford Road gained a
reputation for being haunted. Numerous legends and
stories sprang up about the place, from the typical
tales of murdered boyfriends and killers with hooks
for hands to more specific tales of a local killer
who was dubbed the "Zombie". He was said to live in
an old dilapidated shack by the river and would
attack young lovers who came here looking for
someplace quiet and out of the way. As time passed,
the stories of this madman were told and re-told and
eventually, the name of Lawler Ford Road was largely
forgotten and it was replaced with "Zombie Road", by
which it is still known today.

There are many other stories too, from ghostly
apparitions in the woods to visitors who have
vanished without a trace. There are also stories
about a man who was killed here by a train in the
1970s and who now haunts the road and that of a
mysterious old woman who yells at passersby from a
house at the end of the road. There is another about
a boy who fell from the bluffs along the river and
died but his body was never found. His ghost is also
believed to haunt the area. There are also enough
tales of Native American spirits and modern-day
devil worshippers here to fill another book
entirely.

But is there any truth to these tales and any
history that might explain how the ghost stories got
started? Believe it or not, there may just be a
kernel of truth to the legends of Zombie Road - and
real-life paranormal experiences taking place there
too.

The region around Zombie Road was once known as
Glencoe. Today, it is a small village on the banks
of the Meramec River and most of its residents live
in houses that were once summer resort cottages.
Most of the other houses are from the era when
Glencoe was a bustling railroad and quarrying
community. Days of prosperity have long since passed
it by, though, and years ago, the village was
absorbed by the larger town of Wildwood.

There is no record of the first inhabitants here but
they were likely the Native Americans who built the
mounds that existed for centuries at the site of
present-day St. Louis. The mound city that once
existed here was one of the largest in North America
and at its peak boasted more than 40,000 occupants.
It is believed that the Meramec River and its
surrounding forests was an area heavily relied upon
for food and mounds have been found at Fenton and
petroglyphs have been discovered along the Meramec
and Big Rivers. It is also believed that the area
around Glencoe, because of the game and fresh water,
was a stopping point for the Indians as they made
their way to the flint quarries in Jefferson
Counties.

After the Mound Builders vanished from the area, the
Osage, Missouri and Shawnee Indians came to the
region and also used the flint quarries and hunted
and fished along the Meramec River. The Shawnee had
been invited into what was then the Louisiana region
by the Spanish governor. Many of them settled west
of St. Louis and were, for a time, major suppliers
of game to the settlement. A family that lived at
what later became Times Beach reported frequent
visits from the Shawnee but the majority of the
tribe moved further west around 1812.

Many other tribes passed through the region as they
were moved out of their original lands in the east
but no records exist of any of them ever staying
near Glencoe. The reason for this is because the
area was a pivotal point for travelers, Indian and
settlers alike. The history of the region may
explain why sightings and encounters of Native
American ghosts have taken place along Lawler Ford
Road. As we know that a ford once existed here (a
shallow point in the river that was more easily
navigated), it's likely that the road leading down
to the river was once an Indian trail. The early
settlers had a tendency to turn the already existing
trails into roads and this may have been the case
with the Lawler Ford Road. If the Native Americans
left an impression behind here, in their travels,
hunts or quests for flint, it could be the reason
why Indian spirits are still encountered here today.

The first white settler in the area was Ninian
Hamilton from Kentucky. He arrived near Glencoe
around 1800 and obtained a settler's land grant. He
built a house and trading post and became one of the
wealthiest and most influential men of the period.
It was mentioned that the area around Glencoe was a
pivotal point in western movement. In those days,
the Meramec River bottoms were heavily forested and
made up of steep hills and sharp bluffs. The river
flooded frequently and the fords that existed were
only usable during times of low water. There were no
bridges or ferries that crossed the river, except
for one that was operated far to the southeast. The
trappers and traders that traveled west of St.
Louis, like the Indians before them, came on
horseback along the ridge route that later became
Manchester Road. It skirted the Meramec and was high
enough so that it was not subject to flooding.
Because of this, it passed directly by Hamilton's
homestead and the trading post that he established
here. With the well-used trail just outside of his
backdoor, as well as nearby fish, game and spring
water, Hamilton's post prospered.

Hamilton later built some grist mills near his
trading post, which was a badly needed resource for
settlers in those days. There are also legends that
say that annual gatherings of fur trappers and
Indian traders occurred at Hamilton's place. These
rendezvous have been the subject of great debate
over the years but no one knows for sure if they
occurred. It is known that his post was the last one
leaving St. Louis and the first the trappers would
see when returning, so it's likely they did take
place.

One of the mills that Hamilton started was later
replaced by a water mill for tanning by Henry
McCullough, who had a tannery and shoemaking
business that not only supplied the surrounding
area, but also allowed him to ship large quantities
of leather to his brother in the south. McCullough
was also a Kentuckian and purchased his land from
Hamilton. He later served as the Justice of the
Peace for about 30 years and as a judge for the
County Court from 1849 to 1852. He was married three
times before he died in 1853 and one of his wives
was a sister of Ninian Hamilton. The wife, Della
Hamilton McCullough, was killed in 1876 after being
struck down by a railroad car on the spur line from
the Rockwoods Reservation.

It has been suggested that perhaps the death of
Della Hamilton McCullough was responsible for the
legend that has grown up around Zombie Road about
the ghost of the person who was run over by a train.
The story of the this phantom has been told for at
least three decades now but there is no record of
anyone being killed in modern times. In fact, the
only railroad death around Glencoe is that of Henry
McCullough's unfortunate wife. Could it be her ghost
that has been linked to Zombie Road?

The railroads would be another vital connection to
Glencoe and to the stories of Lawler Ford Road. The
first lines reached the area in 1853 when a group of
passengers on flat cars arrived behind the steam
locomotive called the "St. Louis". A rail line had
been constructed along the Meramec River, using two
tunnels, and connected St. Louis to Franklin, which
was later re-named Pacific, Missouri. The tiny
station house at Franklin was little more than a
building in the wilderness at that time but bands
played and people cheered as the train pulled into
the station.
Around this same time, tracks had been extended
along the river, passing through what would be
Glencoe. The site was likely given its name by
Scottish railroad engineer James P. Kirkwood, who
laid out the route. The name has its origins in Old
English as "glen" meaning "a narrow valley" and "coe"
meaning "grass.

Only a few remnants of the original railroad can be
found today. The old lines can still be seen at the
end of Zombie Road and it is along these tracks
where the railroad ghost is believed to walk. There
have been numerous accounts over the years of a
translucent figure in white that walks up the
abandoned line and then disappears. Those who claim
to have seen it say that the phantom glows with
bluish-white light but always disappears if anyone
tries to approach it. As mentioned, the identity of
this ghost remains a mystery but despite the stories
of a mysterious death in the 1970s, the presence is
more likely the lingering spirit of Della
McCullough.

One of the passengers who made the first trip west
on the rail line from St. Louis was probably James
E. Yeatman. He was one of the leading citizens of
St. Louis and was the founder of the Mercantile
Library, president of Merchants Bank and an early
proponent of extending the railroads west of the
Mississippi. He was active in both business and
charitable affairs in St. Louis. He was a major
force behind the Western Sanitary Commission during
the Civil War. This large volunteer group provided
hospital boats, medical services and looked to other
needs of the wounded on both sides of the conflict.
The world's first hospital railroad car is
attributed to this group.

After the death of Ninian Hamilton in 1856, his
heirs sold his land to A.S. Mitchell, who in turn
sold out to James Yeatman. He built a large frame
home on the property and dubbed it "Glencoe Park".
The mansion burned to the ground in 1920, while
owned by Alfred Carr and Angelica Yeatman Carr, the
daughter of James Yeatman. They moved into the stone
guest house on the property, which also burned in
1954. It was later rebuilt and then restored and
still remains in the Carr family today.

The village of Glencoe was laid out in 1854 by
Woods, Christy & Co. and in 1883, it contained "a
few houses and a small store, but for about a year
has had no post office." At the time the town was
created, Woods, Christy & Co. also erected a grist
and saw mill at Glencoe that operated until about
1868. Woods, Christy & Co. had been a large dry
goods company in St. Louis. There is a family
tradition in the Christy family that land was traded
for goods and materials by early settlers. This firm
ceased operation as a dry goods company about 1856.
While it is possible that some lands near Glencoe
were the result of trading for supplies, the firm
actually started a large lumbering operation around
the village.

One of the many prominent St. Louis citizens who
traveled through Glencoe during the middle and late
1800s was Winston Churchill, the American author who
wrote a number of bestselling romantic novels in the
early 1900s. One of his most popular, The Crisis,
was partially set in St. Louis and partially at
Glencoe. The novel, which Churchill acknowledged was
based on the activities of James E. Yeatman, depicts
the struggles and conflicts in St. Louis during the
critical years of the Civil War. It is believed that
Angelica Yeatman Carr was his model for the heroine,
Miss Virginia Carvel. The first edition of the book
was released in 1901 and was followed by subsequent
editions. It can still be found on dusty shelves in
used and antiquarian bookstores today.

In 1868, the Glencoe Marble Company was formed and
the previously mentioned side track was added to the
railroad to run alongside the river. The tracks ran
past where the Lawler Ford Road ended and it's
likely that wagons were used to haul quarry stone up
the road. Before this, the road was likely nothing
more than an Indian trail, although it did see other
traffic in the 1860s - and perhaps even death.

During the Civil War, the city of St. Louis found
itself in the predicament of being loyal to the
Union in a state that was predominately dedicated to
the Confederate cause. For this reason, men who were
part of what was called the Home Guard were picketed
along the roads and trails leading into the city
with instructions to turn back Southern sympathizers
by any means necessary. As a result, Confederate
spies, saboteurs and agents often had to find less
trafficked paths to get in and out of the St. Louis
area. One of the lesser known trails was leading to
and away from the ford across the Meramec River near
Glencoe. This trail would later be known as Lawler
Ford Road.

As this information reached the leaders of the
militia forces, troops from the Home Guard began to
be stationed at the ford. The trail here led across
the river and to the small town of Crescent, which
was later dubbed "Rebel Bend" because of the number
of Confederates who passed through it and who found
sanctuary here.

After the militia forces set up lines here, the
river became very dangerous to cross. However, since
there were so few fords across the Meramec, many
attempted to cross here anyway, often with dire
results. According to the stories, a number of men
died here in short battles with the Home Guard.
Could this violence explain some of the hauntings
that now occur along Zombie Road?

Many of the people that I have talked with about the
strange happenings here speak of unsettling feelings
and the sensation of being watched. While we could
certainly dismiss this as nothing more than a case
of the "creeps", that overwhelming near panic that I
described in an earlier chapter, it becomes harder
to dismiss when combined with the eerie sounds,
inexplicable noises and even the disembodied
footsteps that no one seems able to trace to their
source. Many have spoken of being "followed" as they
walk along the trail, as though someone is keeping
pace with them just in the edge of the woods.
Strangely though, no one is ever seen. In addition,
it is not uncommon for visitors to also report the
shapes and shadows of presences in the woods too. On
many occasions, these shapes have been mistaken for
actual people - until the hiker goes to confront
them and finds that there is no one there. It's
possible that the violence and bloodshed that
occurred here during the Civil War has left its mark
behind on this site, as it has on so many other
locations across the country.

Visitors to Lawler Ford Road today will often end
their journey at the Meramec River and the area here
has also played a part in the legends and tales of
Zombie Road. It was here at Yeatman Junction that
one of the first large scale gravel operations on
the Meramec River began. Gravel was taken from the
banks of the Meramec and moved on rail cars into St.
Louis. The first record of this operation is in the
mid-1850's. Later, steam dredges were used, to be
supplanted by diesel or gasoline dredges in
extracting gravel from the channel and from
artificial lakes dug into the south bank. This
continued, apparently without interruption, until
the 1970s.

The gravel quarries were used the until the demise
of the gravel operation in the 1970's. The last
railroad tracks were removed from around Glencoe
when the spur line to the gravel pit was taken out.
Some have cited the railroads as the source for some
of the hauntings along Zombie Road. In addition to
the wandering spirit that is believed to be Della
McCullough, it is possible that some of the other
restless ghosts may be those of accident victims
along the rail lines. Sharp bends in the tracks at
Glencoe were the site of frequent derailments and
were later recalled by local residents. The Carr
family had a number of photographs in their
collection of these deadly accidents. It finally got
so bad that service was discontinued on around the
bend in the river. It has been speculated that
perhaps the victims of the train accidents may still
be lingering here and might explain how the area got
such a reputation for tragedy and ghostly haunts.

Many visitors also claim to have had strange
experiences near the old shacks and ramshackle homes
located along the beach area at the end of the
trail. One of the long-standing legends of the place
mentions the ghost of an old woman who screams at
people from the doorways of one of the old houses.
However, upon investigation, the old woman is never
there. The houses here date back to about 1900, when
the area around Glencoe served as a resort
community. The Meramec River's "clubhouse era"
lasted until about 1945. Many of the cottages were
then converted to year-round residences but others
were simply left to decay and deteriorate in the
woods. This is the origin of the old houses that are
located off Zombie Road but it does not explain the
ghostly old woman and the other apparitions that
have been encountered here. Could they be former
residents of days gone by? Perhaps this haunting on
the old roadway has nothing to do with the violence
and death of the past but rather with the happiness
of it instead. Perhaps some of these former
residents returned to their cottages after death
because the resort homes were places where they knew
peace and contentment in life.

When I first began researching the history and
hauntings of Lawler Ford Road, I have to confess
that I started with the idea that "Zombie Road" was
little more than an urban legend, created from the
vivid imaginations of several generations of
teenagers. I never expected to discover the dark
history of violence and death in the region or
anything that might substantiate the tales of ghosts
and supernatural occurrences along this wooded road.
It was easy to find people who "believed" in the
legends of Zombie Road but I never expected to be
one of those who came to be convinced.

As time has passed, I have learned that there is
more to this spooky place than first meets the eye
and that it goes beyond mere legends linked to old
lover's lane. For those who doubt that ghosts can be
found along Zombie Road, I encourage them to spend
just one evening there, along the dark paths and
under the looming trees, and you just might find
that your mind has been changed. As the famous quote
from The Haunting states: "The supernatural
isn't supposed to happen, but it does happen." And I
believe that it happens along "Zombie Road".